Virtual Tour of Edo Castle through Illustrations and Architectural Drawings

Here we introduce the Honmaru palace, donjon, and other features of Edo Castle.You can move through them in the curated order or click on your preferred number.

Tour Course

Edo Castle Honmaru Palace

(1) Honmaru Noh Stage
(2) Honmaru Ō-hiroma
(3) Honmaru Matsunorōka
(4) Honmaru Ō-oku

Others

(5) Donjon
(6) Momijiyama
(7) Fukiage Garden

Pictorial Map of Edo Castle

[Image]Pictorial Map of Edo Castle

Pictorial Map of Edo Castle（Tokyo Shiryō Collection6151-2）

Introducing Edo Castle

Edo Castle comprised inner and outer sections. The inner section was the castle itself. The outer section, surrounded by the outer moat, contained samurai residences, temples and shrines, and residences for ordinary townsfolk.

1 Pictorial Map of Edo Castle

[The Important Culture Property]

Tokyo Shiryō Collection 6151-2

[Image]Pictorial Map of Edo Castle

This is an illustration of the grounds of Edo Castle in the early 18th century. It shows the Honmaru and other palaces, gardens, and other zones.（36.6×54.7cm)

Edo Castle Honmaru Palace

The Honmaru palace housed the Shogunate government offices as well as the Shogun's residence. It was destroyed by fire in 1863 and never rebuilt. Its functions were relocated to the Nishinomaru palace until the fall of the Shogunate.

(1) Honmaru Noh Stage

2 Diagram of Placement of Earthenware Jars under the Floor of the Honmaru-Omote Noh Stage

[The Important Culture Property]

Tokyo Shiryō Collection 6169-18

[Image]Diagram of Placement of Earthenware Jars under the Floor of the Honmaru-Omote Noh Stage

Thirteen large earthenware jars were buried underneath the Noh stage to improve the acoustics. This diagram provides instructions on matters including the angles at which the jars should be buried.(40.0×55.0cm)

3 Townsfolk Watching Noh Performed at an Important Festival (from the Chiyoda-no-On'omote series)

Tokyo Shiryō Collection 614-C1-4

[Image]Townsfolk Watching Noh Performed at an Important Festival (from the Chiyoda-no-On'omote series)

Around 5,000 Edo townsfolk were invited to Edo Castle for a celebratory Noh theater performance on major occasions such as when a new Shōgun came to power. They received gifts of umbrellas, sake, and the like.(36.0×70.5cm)

(2) Honmaru Ō-hiroma

4 1/30 Scale Elevation Drawing of the Honmaru Ō-hiroma

[The Important Culture Property]

Tokyo Shiryō Collection 6162-27

[Image]1/30 Scale Elevation Drawing of the Honmaru Ō-hiroma

The Ō-hiroma was the most formal chamber and used for official ceremonies. It was the largest room in the palace with 500 tatami mats.(53.0×131.0cm)

5 Kanko Azumanishiki Illustration of the Imperial Conferral of the Title for the 8th Tokugawa Shogun

New Acquisitions Wa-Betsu400

[Image]Kanko Azumanishiki Illustration of the Imperial Conferral of the Title for the 8th Tokugawa Shogun

The shōgun senge（imperial conferral of the title of Shōgun） was the most important of all ceremonies for the shogunate. It was held in the Ō-hiroma and involved an imperial envoy granting the incoming Shōgun the official title of seii taishōgun.(36.5×72.5cm)

(3) Honmaru Matsunorōka

6 Floor Plan of Sakuradamari Tea Room Style Chamber for the Three Tokugawa Branch Households at Matsunorōka, Honmaru Palace

[The Important Culture Property]

Tokyo Shiryō Collection 6165-20

[Image]Floor Plan of Sakuradamari Tea Room Style Chamber for the Three Tokugawa Branch Households at Matsunorōka, Honmaru Palace 1

[Image]Floor Plan of Sakuradamari Tea Room Style Chamber for the Three Tokugawa Branch Households at Matsunorōka, Honmaru Palace 2

The Matsunorōka was an L-shaped corridor approximately 55 meters long, which connected the Ō-hiroma to the Shiroshoin. It is famous for being the site of an incident in 1701, when a high shogunate official was attacked by a daimyō.(57.5×132.5cm)

7 Act Three of Kanadehon Chūshingura

Tokyo Shiryō Collection N054-5-3

[Image]Act Three of Kanadehon Chūshingura

This is a nishiki-e (colored woodblock print) of a scene from the Jōruri play Kanadehon Chūshingura, featuring the incident in 1701 when an official was attacked in the Matsunorōka corridor.(36.5×24.3 cm)

(4) Honmaru Ō-oku

8 Pictorial Diagram of the Ō-oku in the Kan'ei Period

[The Important Culture Property]

Tokyo Shiryō Collection 6181-6

[Image]Pictorial Diagram of the Ō-oku in the Kan'ei Period

This is a floor plan of the Honmaru Ō-oku of Edo Castle in the second half of the 17th century. The Ō-oku was the living quarters of the Shōgun's family and separated into different zones for various purposes.
This drawing may actually depict the Honmaru Goten's O-oku (inner part of the main palace) during the Manji period (1658-1661).(72.0×72.0cm)

9 Edo-nishiki Nagatsubone (Maids' Quarters)

Tokyo Shiryō Collection 615-K1

[Image]Edo-nishiki Nagatsubone (Maids' Quarters)

The Nagatsubone was the living quarters of the maids of the Ō-oku. Rooms were allocated in line with the status of each maid, and they had live-in servants.(24.8×34.8cm)

(5) Donjon

The donjon of Edo Castle was constructed three times in total. However, after being destroyed in a major fire in 1657, it was never reconstructed.

10 Pictorial Diagram of the Front of the Edo Castle Donjon

[The Important Culture Property]

Tokyo Shiryō Collection 6191-D3

[Image]Pictorial Diagram of the Front of the Edo Castle Donjon

This drawing was prepared for the reconstruction of the donjon in the Shōtoku Period (1711-1716). However, the reconstruction plan was never realized. (150.0×107.0cm)

11 Various Pictorial Diagrams

[The Important Culture Property]

Tokyo Shiryō Collection 785-7

[Image]Various Pictorial Diagrams

This is a diagram of the donjon in the Kan'ei Period (1624-1644). This was one of the largest of all early modern donjons. Its construction included numerous pillars installed on each level, with the rooms surrounded by a corridor.(27.0×37.7cm)

(6) Momijiyama

Momijiyama contained the mausoleum of the Shoguns and a repository of books.

12 Pictorial Overview of Momijiyama in Edo Castle

[The Important Culture Property]

Tokyo Shiryō Collection 6152-1

[Image]Pictorial Overview of Momijiyama in Edo Castle 1

[Image]Pictorial Overview of Momijiyama in Edo Castle 2

[Image]Pictorial Overview of Momijiyama in Edo Castle 3

This is a diagram of Momijiyama in the early Shōtoku Period (1711-1716). (91.5×100.1cm)

(7) Fukiage Garden

Edo Castle's expansive Fukiage Garden was the venue for a wide variety of events.

13 Pictorial Overview of Fukiage Garden in Edo Castle

[The Important Culture Property]

Tokyo Shiryō Collection 6153-1

[Image]Pictorial Overview of Fukiage Garden in Edo Castle

This is a diagram of the Fukiage Garden in its entirety around 1805, including buildings, waterways, and other features. (91.5×170cm)

14 Shōgun Observing Court Proceedings in Fukiage Garden (from the Chiyoda-no-On'omote series)

Tokyo Shiryō Collection 614-C1-24

[Image]Shōgun Observing Court Proceedings in Fukiage Garden (from the Chiyoda-no-On'omote series)

A special judicial court was established in the Fukiage Garden, to emphasize the importance of court proceedings attended by the Shōgun.(36.0×71.0cm)

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